Phelps wins last individual Olympic swimming raceLONDON (AP) — Five things to know about Friday, Day 7 of the London Olympics: • Threepeat achieved: Phelps wins last individual race at Olympics. • Saudi woman’s judo appearance hailed as victory for women in ultraconservative kingdom. • Track and field gets under way with fans filling up stadium. • Federer, Serena reach Olympic tennis finals. • One U.S. boxer still fighting after overturned result. Michael Phelps’ last individual race at the ...

India left in dark by utilities losing $10 billion a yearMUMBAI, India (AP) — A decade ago, Chandrakant’s fishing village in India’s financial capital Mumbai lived mostly by candlelight. What people did not have — electricity — they stole. It was easy enough to hook onto the two thin power lines that passed over the village and take a little for themselves. Today, his settlement has moved up the feeding chain of Mumbai neighborhoods and most residents have city electricity meters. But the loose habi...

Syrian regime pleads with Russia for economic aidBEIRUT (AP) — Syria reached out to its powerful ally Russia on Friday, as senior officials pleaded with Moscow for financial loans and supplies of oil products — an indication that international sanctions are squeezing President Bashar Assad’s regime. The signs of desperation came as resilient rebels fought regime forces in the Syrian capital only two weeks after the government crushed a revolt there. The renewed battles in Damascus show that ...

Parents found guilty of murdering daughter in UKLONDON (AP) — The girl was murdered by her Pakistani parents for her Western ways. And it was her little sister who bravely told jurors how her mother and father suffocated the 17-year-old with a plastic bag — gripping testimony that led to her parents’ murder conviction on Friday. Justice Roderick Evans sentenced Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana Ahmed, 49, to life in prison for killing their daughter, Shafilea, in 2003. The couple — first cousins fr...

UN General Assembly denounces Syrian crackdownUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly denounced Syria’s crackdown on dissent Friday in a symbolic effort meant to push the deadlocked Security Council and the world at large into action on stopping the country’s civil war. Before the vote, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reminded the Assembly of the fresh violence in the city of Aleppo and drew comparisons between the failure to act in Syria with the international commun...

Decline of entrepreneurship blamed for Japan woesTOKYO (AP) — Worn out and resigned to its dwindling status, Japan Inc. is said to be quietly shuffling off the world stage. But don’t tell that to Kenji Hasegawa, who is ready to conquer the global auto market with his nifty innovation, a bolt that doesn’t need a nut. Or Chiaki Hayashi, who makes millions teaching big-name companies to be creative again. As different as they seem — Hasegawa runs auto-parts supplier Lock’n Bolt Corp. and Hayash...

Douglas wins all-around title, giving her 2nd goldLONDON (AP) — Just 14, Gabby Douglas pleaded with her mother to let her move cross country, certain a new coach could help her get to the Olympics. Not two years after setting out on her own, Douglas beat Russia’s Viktoria Komova for the all-around title Thursday night, becoming the third straight U.S. athlete to win gymnastics’ biggest prize and the first African-American to do so. It was her second gold medal of the London Games, coming two ...

Argentina celebrates bond payoff as end of an eraBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Bond payoffs are supposed to be boring, but Argentina’s president is celebrating Friday’s final $2.3 billion payment on a bond given to people whose savings were confiscated a decade ago, calling it a lesson for European countries now mired in foreign debt. The nation’s economic disaster left thousands with a grim choice after the government seized their dollar-denominated deposits to stop bank runs in 2002. They...

Annan quits as Syrian envoy, blames lack of unityBEIRUT (AP) — Kofi Annan announced his resignation Thursday as peace envoy to Syria and issued a blistering critique of world powers, bringing to a dramatic end a frustrating six-month effort that failed to achieve even a temporary cease-fire as the country plunged into civil war. Annan also had harsh words for the Syrian regime, saying it was clear President Bashar Assad “must leave office.” As the violence escalated on the ground, rebels use...

Phelps back on top, beats Lochte in 200 IMLONDON (AP) — Michael Phelps spent the day thinking about all the things he’s doing for the final time at the pool. It turns out that included one last win over Ryan Lochte. Phelps finally has a gold all his own at his final Olympics. Adding to an already unprecedented medal collection, he claimed his first individual victory of the London Games and handed Lochte a double disappointment on his rival’s final night in the pool Thursday. Phelps s...

New Egypt government puts Brotherhood in key postsCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Islamist president swore in his first new government Thursday, led by a devout Muslim and including five members of his Muslim Brotherhood in unglamorous but ideal ministries for a group whose long-term aim is to Islamize the most populous Arab nation. The Cabinet is a far cry from the inclusive administration that President Mohammed Morsi has repeatedly promised. No other political factions came on board to join. Women an...

Somali comedian who dared mock militants is killedMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — On one of his recent radio shows, a popular Somali comedian ridiculed commanders of a ruthless Islamist insurgent group that is notorious for forcibly recruiting boys into its ranks and making them fight. “Hey young boys, you can’t move back from the enemy shelling ... instead just stay there and fight,” the comedian said, taking the role of an al-Shabab commander speaking by phone to his youthful troops from an ocean...

French town famed for extreme sports bans wingsuitsPARIS (AP) — The French town of Chamonix, deep in the shadow of Mont Blanc, has always embraced danger. Climbers scale Europe’s highest peak in dire conditions. Backcountry skiers risk avalanches or falling off cliffs. But the arrival this summer of the wingsuit flyers offered peril on an entirely new scale. For nearly two months, daredevils in skin-tight suits with batwing sleeves and a flap between their legs hurled themselves off the Breven...

Eyes on London: Blame meThe coach of the Chinese badminton players who were disqualified for throwing a game says he is to blame. “As the head coach, I owe the fans and the Chinese an apology,” coach Li Yongbo said, according to a report by official Xinhua news agency. “Chinese players failed to demonstrate their fighting spirit of the national team. It’s me to blame.” China’s Olympic delegation also criticized the two players. “The behavior by Yu Yang and Wang Xiaol...

Indian businesses weather blackouts, but at a costGHAZIABAD, India (AP) — Work making potato chip display racks at Jayraj Kumar’s factory barely paused when much of India’s power grid collapsed. The backup generators kicked in automatically and the electric saws, presses and welding machines kept running, just like they do during the five-hour power cuts the factory in suburban Delhi suffers nearly every day. India’s unreliable power system has forced businesses to create a workaround electri...

Clinton challenges Africa to embrace democracyDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — In veiled swipes at China’s investments in Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday urged African leaders to embrace democracy and partnerships with responsible foreign powers as a means to improving their living standards and addressing the root causes of extremism on the continent. Clinton, speaking to university students, lawmakers and diplomats in Senegal’s capital, challenged Africa’s elite...

Where’s Assad? Mystery deepens about Syrian leaderBEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad urged his military Wednesday to boost its fight against rebels, but his written call to arms only deepened a mystery over his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb penetrated his inner circle. Assad has not spoken publicly since the July 18 bombing killed four of his top security officials — including his brother-in-law — during a rebel assault on the capital, Damascus. The president’s low profile has r...

Panetta asks Israel for patience on IranJERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, standing next to the U.S. defense chief, said Wednesday without qualification that international economic sanctions have had no effect on Iran’s nuclear program and suggested Israeli patience was wearing thin, a statement that amounted to an indictment of President Barack Obama’s policy toward the Islamic republic. Netanyahu dismissed U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s assurances t...

Romney gaffes contrast with Obama in ’08BERLIN (AP) — The British were offended, the Palestinians accused him of racism and even in friendlier Poland, Mitt Romney’s union policies drew criticism from the current leaders of the movement that toppled communism. Romney’s visit to Britain, Israel and Poland was never expected to produce the same media frenzy as then-candidate Barack Obama’s extravagant, eight-country tour of 2008. Obama received rock star treatment from international me...

Teddy bears drop in, bring down 2 Belarus generalsMINSK, Belarus (AP) — It’s probably the first time in history that teddy bears have defeated generals. Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has sacked two of the nation’s top defense officials after two Swedish advertising agency employees piloted a light plane into the country’s heavily guarded airspace, dropping 879 teddy bears decked out in parachutes and slogans supporting human rights. Officials in the ex-Soviet state den...